00:00This shoreline on the western fringes of Naples is set to be the backdrop of sailing's glamorous America's Cup next
00:07year.
00:10But the upcoming event has sparked a broader battle over whether it will finally help clean up the Bagnoli littoral.
00:18Or simply bury its toxic past hosting heavy industry that left the shoreline polluted.
00:24Enza Amato, the center-left head of Naples City Council, said what matters most to Neapolitans is being able to
00:31access the sea.
00:34Personally, I see the America's Cup as a chance to speed up the environmental remediation plans that, for the sea,
00:41were originally scheduled to begin in 2031.
00:49One of the biggest points of tension is what to do about a coastal landfill containing an estimated 35 million
00:55cubic feet of industrial waste,
00:58left over from when the last of Naples' factories closed in 1992.
01:03Initially, the plan was to remove it entirely to guarantee a safe shoreline for future generations.
01:09However, Amato says those plans have changed.
01:15We will, in short, have the landfill site reclaimed, or rather secured, as the technical term is slightly different.
01:25We will also host the team hangars, which are structures rented by the teams.
01:29So once the event is over, they will be removed.
01:35What will remain is an area with upgraded roads, because the passage of very heavy trucks is currently causing inconvenience.
01:49Many residents, activists, and small business owners are skeptical.
01:54They fear the America's Cup could lock in a future of luxury marinas, concrete, and so-called temporary infrastructure that
02:02never actually gets removed.
02:03Critics say the city prefers temporary fixes because, under Italian law, they do not require grueling environmental impact assessments that
02:12can take months or years to complete.
02:17Ines Clemente calls the city council's plans for the landfill a sham.
02:22She's a bar owner in Bagnoli and has organized a petition against the project.
02:27Clemente says her bar is coated with dust, as trucks carry away material, and clients are driven away by road
02:34closures and heavy traffic by trucks.
02:39Paola Minieri also lives in Bagnoli and worries that once the work is done, she'll lose her home.
02:45Under a city project to upgrade the area, predating the America's Cup contract, her house was earmarked for demolition.
02:53Her family has lived in a cluster of seafront homes for more than a century, but the city council has
02:58said it needs to be cleared for the public good.
03:01Living in Bagnoli comes with a toxic price for Minieri's family.
03:05Around 10 of them have died from asbestos-linked cancers that local doctors say could be triggered by exposure to
03:12pollutants from the old factories.
03:14And the city has yet to give details on what comes next, apart from acknowledging that new residential units will
03:20be built.
03:21Desirable beachfront real estate with views of the islands would come with a big price tag.
03:27Everything they want to do is welcome.
03:29We agree with the cleanup.
03:30We agree with the America's Cup.
03:32We are not the people who say no.
03:34We are the people who want things to move forward, especially because this place has been battered for more than
03:4040 years.
03:41And for over 40 years, we have endured and resisted.
03:44So we deserve to stay here.
03:46City Council Chief Amado said a final decision that would affect the Minieri family has not yet been made.
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